The Siren's Curse ✓

Prequel: Yoongi's Story

Min Yoongi was born with the sea in his blood. His mother—a pirate just like his father—was a force to be reckoned with. She'd battled countless pirates and soldiers alike, survived the wildest storms and the highest tides. But after all her victories, it was the curse of childbirth that stole her final breath.

Yoongi's father did not hold the same strength as she. He tried for some years to be the best parent he could be, tried to veer away from danger as he raised his son, but his lover's absence left a gaping hole in his heart, same as the shot that took his life one bloody night.

With no parents left at so young, the surviving crew regrettably dropped Yoongi off at a neutral port in the hopes to keep him from the same fate as his family. But the boy already had the salt of the ocean coursing through his veins, and his destiny was sealed. At the age of thirteen, he carved his path right back onto a ship where he belonged. Lying about how old he was, he convinced the captain to hire his help. Over the years, he grew in skill not only with sailing, but also swordsmanship and piracy.

By the time he was eighteen, Yoongi had proven himself a loyal companion, a capable fighter, and a respectable pirate in the eyes of the crew. His captain made him first mate, but the position was short-lived. After coming out victorious in a perilous encounter with other pirates, the captain allowed Yoongi to take the second ship as his own if he so desired. The young man only hesitated long enough to hug his mentor, then he was boarding the vessel. After a few crew members helped him sail to the most well-known pirate port, they left Yoongi on his journey as a new captain.

The greatest part about his new ship was that it could be sailed with only a few helping hands. All he had to do was find souls willing to join him.

In a tavern filled with blaring music, anarchic dancing, and drunken outbursts, Yoongi searched for his first crew member. He took time to lean against the wall and observe the pirates there. It didn't take long for him to spot the young, tall boy who sat at a table with a stack of books in front of him.

Yoongi watched the boy stand after an older pirate whispered something in his ear. A smirk played on the boy's lips as he brushed past the pirate and backed away from a wooden beam that stretched from the ceiling to the floor. He held his hand out, and the pirate tossed a dagger to him. The younger raised the dagger back near his shoulder and his ear, then with only a half-second delay, he launched the blade and it spun through the air before hitting the bullseye carved into the beam. The older pirate grumbled under his breath as he struggled to rip the dagger out of the wood, then he walked up to the boy and dropped a bag of gold coins into his palm.

As the boy went to return to his seat, Yoongi crossed the dim room and greeted him.

"How can you possibly be focused on reading in a place like this?" the newfound captain shouted above the noise as he took the seat across from him.

The boy, probably only a year younger than Yoongi, lifted a brow as he glanced up at his visitor. "I'm not reading. I'm studying."

Yoongi narrowed his eyes as he looked down at the papers under the boy's hands, finding a map. "You trying to get somewhere?"

"Are you trying to mind your own business?"

Yoongi snickered. "No. I saw how good you were with that dagger. Impressive aim for someone so young."

The boy had returned to studying his map, not even bothering to look up as he spoke. "We're nearly the same age. Now are you going to continue pestering me, or will you leave?"

"Where'd you learn to handle a blade like that?"

"Why do you care?" The boy glanced up again, sighing when he received no answer. "I was raised with pirates. They taught me everything I know."